fa-la-la-la friendom

Got questions about how this all works? We’ve got answers!

What’s an online gift exchange and how does it work?

Ever heard of a Secret Santa? An online gift exchange is essentially the same thing! The idea is that a group of people (in this case, the friendom) all come together and put their name in a drawing. Each person participating then gets a partner for whom they’ll make a gift!

But, it’s kept a secret so that each person can get their partner a surprise gift that they’ll love! It’s important to note that while this is an exchange, the person you make a gift for is not necessarily the person making a gift for you! Each participant chooses one gift idea to make and then they create it before the deadline of the event. Then, during the event (December 17th thru 23rd), everyone posts or submits their gift to their assigned partner!

Many fandoms participate in these kinds of exchanges every year, and they are lots of fun!

How can I make a gift for someone I only know through the internet?

It’s a little different to do an online gift exchange if you are used to giving presents to your family and friends in person. But there are a lot of different gift ideas that you can make for your online friends, too!

Some of those ideas can include:

-Fanfiction

-Fanart

-Photo and GIF sets

-Photo and GIF edits/manipulations (e.g. blog headers)

-Playlists

-Music arrangements & covers

-Video edits/manipulations (e.g. AMVs)

-Animations (video or GIF)

-And plenty more!

To keep this exchange safe and respectful, we ask that no gifts or requests involve NSFW content (involving sex, gore, or adult themes like drugs and alcohol). If you have specific triggering content you do not want included in gifts or requests, there is a place in the form to describe it!

In addition, this is an ONLINE gift exchange. What that means is that the gift you make needs to be something that can be sent digitally. This keeps everyone safe, so no one has to disclose any personal information to strangers.

How do I get my gift to my partner?

There are several ways to submit your work! Some people simply send the creation to their partner’s submission inbox on their blog, others post it on their own blog and mention their partner (using @[partner’s url]).

This blog will have a submissions box open for you to submit your work, as well! If you created a fanfic, there is a gifting system on ao3 that you can use, too!

If you do post the gift outside of tumblr, though, be sure to send your partner a link so that they can find it!

Can I contact my assigned partner even though it’s supposed to be a secret?

We aren’t going to stop you from contacting the person you get paired up with (frankly, I don’t know how we could if we even wanted to), but part of the charm of the event is to keep it all under wraps (zing!) until the event occurs! However, you can always keep it a secret while also getting more info about what your assigned partner likes by checking out their blog or talking to them about their interests!

The form you fill out has a spot to explain what Andi Mack-related interests you have, so you’ll get a list of your partner’s interests when you find out who will be receiving the gift you make!

There are adults in this fandom and I’m still a minor! What if I’m uncomfortable getting a gift from/giving a gift to an adult in the fandom?

No worries! There is an option in the form when you sign up for the exchange that asks if you are under 18 and uncomfortable having interaction with those 18 and older. It also asks if you are over 18 and uncomfortable having interaction with those under 18, as well. The event is meant to be fun, so we want to do whatever we can to make sure everyone is as safe as possible.

If I sign up now and end up not being able to make a gift after all, what do I have to do?

This does happen, so don’t feel bad if something comes up and you can no longer participate in the gift exchange. If you signed up and then find out later that you can’t make something for your partner, just send an ask and let us know BEFORE the deadline!

We actually ask for Backup Creators in the sign-up form for this very reason! Which leads to the next question…

What is a Backup Creator?

A Backup Creator is someone who makes more than one gift, just in case someone has to duck out of the event after being assigned a partner. They help fill the gap that’s left so that everyone still receives a gift during the event! The members running the event will also act as Backup Creators, but we also have a space in the form where you can volunteer to be one, too!

If you would like to be a Backup Creator but NOT participate in the gift exchange, you can send an ask, and we will contact you if the need rises!

This is my andi mack secret santa for @thisjyrusshipper  It’s long as hell im SORRY i went OFF iss mostly jyrus but im the worst and threw some ambi in so uhmm merry late christmas i guess i hope you like it. I’d put it on AO3 but im a dumbass who doesn’t have an account so here u go!!!

_______________________________________________

Happy Hanukkah!!

Happy Kwanzaa!!

Whatever it is you’re celebrating today or already have celebrated or will continue to celebrate—

This is late but I for the Andi Mack Gift exchange I made something for @joshua-rush-fanpage

Future Jyrus moodboard - Cyrus and Jonah host a Chanukah party!

Food, presents, dancing, and celebrating Chanukah with the Good Hair Crew!

Merry Mackmas @andi-mackk! I hope you enjoy this fic I wrote for you!

P.S. I gave you a little cameo in the story, hope you like it ;-)

Prompts: Movie theatre, sunset, midnight

Cyrus Goodman sighed, running his fingers through his hair for the seventh time in the past two minutes.

“Honey, you look great,” his mom assured him, entering the thirteen year old’s bedroom.

“You have to say that, you’re my mom.”

“That’s true, but you really do look great.” She came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Besides, they’re just your friends. It’s not like you’re going on a date or anything.”

“I know, but we’re probably going to take pictures together at the movie, and I need to look my best,” he lied. Just then, a horn honked outside.

“You look fine, now get going!” His mom called as she left the room.

Cyrus ran his fingers through his hair one last time before grabbing his phone and sprinting downstairs. He collected his wallet, slipped on his shoes and coat, and was out the door. He shivered slightly in the early March weather, opening the door to Buffy’s dad’s minivan.

“Hi, Mr. Driscoll!”

“Hello, Cyrus! And how many times have I told you, call me Dan?”

Cyrus smiled. “Sorry, Dan,” he apologized as he took a seat in the back next to Buffy. They then began their drive to the local movie theatre, where they would meet up with Andi and Jonah, then go back to Andi’s apartment for a sleepover.

“Are you okay?” Buffy whispered so that her dad couldn’t hear, motioning to the leg Cyrus didn’t even realize he was bouncing.

“I’m fine,” Cyrus lied, but Buffy saw right through him, and glared suspiciously. “Okay, maybe I’m a little nervous.”

“Why?”

“Dark theatre…Jonah…”

Buffy nodded in understanding. “Right. How have things been between you two since…that night?”

She was referring to one week ago, when the four friends had been hanging out at her house…

They had been in the middle of an intense round of Twister, when suddenly, the power went out.

“Don’t worry everyone, it was probably just the storm!” Dan assured them. All four kids turned on their phone flashlights, but the room was still fairly dark, and not only was Cyrus scared of the dark, but he was also scared of storms. He whimpered quietly, so quietly that only the person next to him could hear– Jonah.

“It’s okay, Cy,” Jonah whispered. Just then, thunder cracked outside, and Cyrus jumped. Jonah reacted quickly, pulling Cyrus close in an attempt to comfort him and calm him down.

Cyrus’s breath hitched. He was so close to Jonah that he could smell his sandalwood shampoo. “Better?” Jonah asked. Cyrus could only nod.

“Thank you,” he whispered, looking up at Jonah. Jonah looked down at him. For some reason, neither of them could seem to look away. 

As if being pulled by some magnetic force, Jonah started to lean in, ever-so-slowly, and without thinking, Cyrus started doing the same. He no longer had control over his body as he continued to inch closer to Jonah’s lips. They were close enough to feel each other’s breath, their lips almost touching…

Suddenly, the lights came back on, and both boys jumped apart.

Cyrus sighed. He had told Buffy, and only Buffy, about the experience later that night. “For the most part, the same as before, which is a good thing I guess. I just wish we could talk about it, you know? Then again, it’s not like everything’s completely gone back to normal. Now he…does things.”

“What kinds of things?” Buffy inquired.

“Like…I’ll catch him staring, and he won’t immediately look away, he’ll maintain eye contact for a second. Or when we’re sitting in a booth at The Spoon, sometimes he’ll sit with our knees together.”

“And how do you feel about it?

“I don’t know! On one hand, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but on the other hand, does it really matter if he never actually brings it up? Plus, I feel guilty.”

“Because of Andi?” Buffy asked, and Cyrus nodded. “Well, it’s not like her and Jonah are dating. They’re just…doing whatever comes before dating, I guess?”

“It doesn’t matter. She likes him. And more importantly, he likes her! There’s no way he’d ever choose me over Andi.”

“You never know.”

“Trust me, I do,” Cyrus sighed.

Buffy offered him a sympathetic smile, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly.

“Okay, we’re here!” Dan announced, and both kids thanked him and said goodbye before climbing out and closing the car door.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Buffy asked.

“As long as I have you by my side,” Cyrus answered. Buffy smiled, linking their arms as they pushed open the cinema doors.

“Guys, over here!” Andi called, and they turned to see her and Jonah standing by the snack counter, one extra large popcorn in Jonah’s hands. They approached their friends.

“Hey, Cy-guy,” Jonah greeted him as he beamed his signature smile, and Cyrus felt his heart flutter. There he was, the real reason Cyrus had worried so much about his appearance tonight. The boy who made his heart melt with a single laugh, whose eyes looked like they held the entire sky in them, who he lay awake at night thinking about.

“H-Hey, Jonah.”

“Someone’s hungry,” Buffy commented, motioning at the popcorn in Jonah’s hands.

“They were having a deal, one extra large popcorn for the price of a large,” Andi explained. “We figured we’d take advantage of it and me, Jonah and Cyrus could just share, since you don’t like popcorn.”

“Sounds good to me,” Buffy responded, and Cyrus nodded in agreement. The four friends then made their way to the ticket booth.

“How may I help you?” A girl whose name tag read ‘Roni’ asked as they reached the front of the line.

“Four tickets to Forget Me Not, please,” Andi requested. It was a new romance movie about Izzy and Charlie, a couple in their early twenty’s who were engaged to be married, until Charlie got in a car accident and woke up with amnesia. The doctors say he’ll never get his memory back, but Izzy, refusing to give up, tries to get Charlie to remember their relationship, or at least make him fall in love with her again.

“That’ll be forty eight dollars, please.” Each of them handed over twelve dollars, and Roni gave them each a ticket. “Thank you, enjoy the film!”

Once they were inside the theatre, Cyrus noticed his shoe was untied. He bent down to re-tie it, but upon standing back up, he realized his friends had already sat down. Buffy had sat next to a middle-aged woman, followed by Andi, and then Jonah. Cyrus’s eyes widened as he realized what this meant.

He would have to sit next to Jonah Beck.

Now nervous, Cyrus made his way to his friends, reluctantly taking a seat next to the blue-eyed boy. Just then, his phone dinged, and he pulled it out to see a text from Buffy.

Buffy: I’m so sorry, I thought u were right behind me, and by the time I realized u weren’t it was too late! Where were u??

Cyrus: Tying my shoe. It’s ok, I’ll be fine

Cyrus looked over at Buffy to see her giving him a sympathetic smile. The lights dimmed, and Cyrus put his phone away as the movie started to play.

About an hour in, Cyrus was invested in the movie, watching as Izzy and Charlie pulled up to the beach in Izzy’s car. He reached into the popcorn bucket on Jonah’s lap. However, it turns out Jonah had had the same idea, as their hands brushed up against each other in the bucket.

Cyrus pulled his hand away quickly, heart racing. He glanced over at Jonah, and could just make out blue eyes staring back at him in the dark. Andi, her gaze still focussed on the screen, reached out and took hold of Jonah’s hand, and yet, he still held eye contact with Cyrus. A few seconds later, the smaller boy finally forced himself to look away.

“Where are we going?” Charlie asked.

“On an adventure,” Izzy answered.

Cyrus noticed Jonah’s free hand now lay on the armrest between them. Slowly, he put his hand down on the armrest too, as far from Jonah’s as possible.

“We’re really high up,” Charlie observed as he looked at the ocean beneath him, now standing on the cliff Izzy had led him to.

“You took me here, two years ago. You told me to jump, but I was scared.”

Cyrus’s mind raced. Did he dare move his hand? What if he’d been reading the situation wrong this entire time? What if that night had meant nothing?

“You said that there was nothing like it. So I stood right there, on the edge.”

Cyrus took a deep breath, and inched his hand the tiniest bit closer to Jonah’s. Jonah’s hand did the same.

“My heart was racing.”

Cyrus moved his hand a little closer.

“My entire body was shaking.”

Once again, Jonah copied his movements, as if their minds were one, as if their hearts both beat with the same want.

“But I wanted so badly to feel the adrenaline in my veins, to feel like I was flying,” Izzy continued.

Their hands were next to each other now, pinkies just barely touching. Cyrus’s heart was in overdrive, as was his mind. He wanted so badly to hold Jonah’s hand, but was petrified at the thought of actually doing so. Was it worth the risk?

“So I jumped.”

Before he could second guess himself, Cyrus placed his hand over Jonah’s. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, just waiting for this all to end horribly, for Jonah to pull his hand away in disgust, to call him a freak in front of everybody.

Except he didn’t.

“And you were right. There was nothing like it. It was the greatest feeling in the world.”

Jonah Beck let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Cyrus Goodman is holding my hand, he thought. Cyrus Goodman is holding my hand!

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember,” Charlie apologize. He kicked a rock into the ocean in frustration.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Izzy assured him.

“No, it’s not!” He suddenly exclaimed.

Jonah glanced to his left, at the beautiful girl laying her head on his shoulder. The girl who meant the world to him.

“I…I feel like I’m trapped between two worlds,” Charlie confessed.

Then he turned to his left, looking at the amazing boy who was holding his hand. The boy who meant the world to him.

Trapped between two worlds indeed, he thought.

+++

Later that night, after the movie, they were walking back to Andi’s apartment, as it was only around a ten minute walk. Jonah was in between Andi and Cyrus, with Buffy next to Andi. Cyrus was dying to tell her what had happened in the theatre, but that would have to wait until they were alone.

“Guys, look!” Jonah exclaimed, pointing at the sky, which was painted with the most beautiful shades of pinks, oranges and purples. The colours seemed to blend together in perfect harmony, dancing across the sky.

“Whoa, nice sunset,” Cyrus observed.

“Really nice,” agreed Andi. “Like something right out of a painting.” She sat down on the grassy hill they were currently walking over.

“What are you doing?” Asked Buffy.

“Let’s enjoy this,” she answered.

The other three shrugged, taking a seat next to her. Andi yawned, laying her head on Jonah’s shoulder. Her yawning caused Cyrus to do the same, though he was also pretty tired. He felt so relaxed, sitting there next to the people he loved most in the world, watching the sunset, that he felt his eyes start to droop. Jonah noticed this, and tapped Cyrus lightly. When Cyrus turned to face him, he motioned to his free shoulder with his head. Surprised, Cyrus slowly lay his head down. The scent of Jonah’s sandalwood shampoo brought back memories of the week before. He closed his eyes, not asleep but also not fully awake, somewhere in between the dreamworld and reality.

+++

Cyrus glanced at the clock, which told him it was midnight, causing Cyrus to groan silently. Everyone else was asleep, but he, despite being exhausted, was wide awake, his mind racing with thoughts of the boy snoring softly a few feet away. He analyzed the events of the day, not quite able to process them all.

He had held hands with Jonah Beck. He, Cyrus Goodman, had not only held hands with Jonah Beck, but had practically cuddled with Jonah Beck, all in the same day!

“Cy,” he suddenly heard someone whisper. He jumped slightly, before turning to the source of the voice.

“Jonah?”

“Yeah. Sorry if I woke you.”

“You didn’t, don’t worry. I thought you were asleep.”

“I was, but I, um…”

“What?”

Jonah blushed slightly, and was suddenly glad the room was dark. “I had a nightmare.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Cyrus offered.

“Not really, if it’s okay. Thank you though. I’m just kinda shaken up about it.”

“Wanna just talk, then? To help you calm down, maybe distract you?”

“That’d be dosh. Only if you don’t mind, though.”

Cyrus offered him a small smile, though he probably couldn’t see it. “Not at all. I don’t want to wake the girls or Bex, though.”

“Not a problem. I’ve got the perfect place. Grab your coat,” Jonah said, standing up.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Don’t worry, we’re not leaving the building. Just trust me.”

And Cyrus did trust Jonah, would trust him with his life, so he quietly grabbed his coat and followed Jonah out the door. He lead him all the way down the hall, stopping at a ladder, which he started to climb.

“Jonah, are we gonna get in trouble?” Cyrus whisper-yelled.

“No, I’ve been up here before, it’s fine,” Jonah assured him. Cyrus sighed, but ultimately followed Jonah all the way up. Once he reached the top, he immediately breathed in the crisp March air.

“Whoa!” Cyrus exclaimed, mouth agape. They were on the roof, and the view was incredible. The buildings below looked so small, like Cyrus could crush them with his foot. The street lamps looked like small balls of light, just floating around, illuminating the city Cyrus had grown up in since birth, yet had never seen from this perspective. It was like an entirely new place.

“Like it?” Jonah asked, and Cyrus nodded.

“Love it!”

Jonah chuckled. “Yeah, Andi took me up here a few weeks ago.”

Cyrus’s face dropped. “Andi?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“It’s nothing, really. It’s just that, a few weeks ago, she mentioned something about you guys having a new ‘special spot’. Would this, by any chance, be it?”

Jonah seemed to consider this for a moment, looking out at the city below. “Well, I mean, sure, we talked about this place being special in general, but I don’t think it’s just ours. I want to share this spot with everyone special in my life.”

“I…I’m special to you?”

Jonah turned to face Cyrus. “Of course you are, Cy-guy,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Because I’m your friend?”

“Yes, because you’re my friend. My best friend!” Jonah answered, smiling a little too widely. He continued to stare at Cyrus, looking conflicted. Then, he sighed, dropping his fake smile. “No, that’s…that’s a lie.”

“What do you mean? We’re not friends?” Cyrus asked, worried.

“Cyrus, be honest…” Jonah took a step closer to the other boy, repeating the same words somebody once said to him. “Were we ever?”

They stared into each other’s eyes, blue into brown. Jonah started to lean in, and while he should have felt nothing but happiness, Cyrus just felt guilty. He knew he would kick himself for this later, but…

“Wait!” He blurted out, taking a step back, because he was a good friend, and could never hurt someone he cared about. Jonah stared at him with confused puppy eyes, and Cyrus had to remind himself that he was doing the right thing. “Andi.”

Jonah sighed softly. “Andi’s not my girlfriend, Cyrus. And honestly, ever since last week, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to be. I’ve been so confused. Didn’t you see it today? I held hands with both of you, at the same time. Cuddled with both of you, at the same time!”

“So you still like her, then,” Cyrus said, trying not to sound hurt.

“No, Cyrus, listen. All week, it’s been ‘Cyrus or Andi?’, on a loop in my head. ‘Cyrus or Andi? Cyrus or Andi? Cyrus or Andi?’ Even when I was alone with her, I was still trying to make that choice, still trying to figure out what, or who, I wanted. But right now, alone with you, the choice has never been clearer to me. My heart’s telling me what I want, Cyrus.” Jonah stepped closer again, cupping Cyrus’s face with his hands. Then, he closed the gap between them, and both boys closed their eyes as their lips met.

This is so much different than it was with Iris, Cyrus thought. Every part of him felt alive. He didn’t just feel the kiss on his lips, he felt it everywhere, all the way down to his toes. Jonah tasted like popcorn, and his lips were soft and warm, fitting against Cyrus’s like puzzle pieces.

When the kiss eventually ended, Cyrus wasn’t ready to completely lose the moment, so he brought their foreheads together. His heart was beating out of his chest, and Cyrus thought that he’d never felt true happiness until this moment. Both boys smiled shyly at each other.

❝ We’ll be friends forever, won’t we? ❞